What best describes an indirect merchant?

• A. A merchant processing payments directly with Stripe
• B. A platform that processes payments on behalf of connected businesses
• C. A merchant that never processes payments
• D. A merchant using cryptocurrency

Answer: (B)

An indirect merchant is a platform that processes payments on behalf of connected businesses. In this setup, the platform handles the customer payment and then distributes funds to the individual sellers or sub-merchants, usually after taking a platform fee. This model is common in marketplaces where multiple merchants rely on one platform to manage payments, while the platform remains the merchant of record with the payment processor. This differs from a direct merchant, who processes payments directly for themselves without routing payments through a platform. The other options don’t describe this intermediary, platform-driven arrangement.